


Season Eight Who?

by Dont_do_sadness



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Allura deserved better, Alternate Ending, Alternate Season/Series 08, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, I love them so much, Keith (Voltron) Angst, Keith/Lance (Voltron) Angst, Kick, M/M, Post-Season/Series 07, Voltron, i cried while writing it, its real sad bois, klance, they all did, voltron: legendary defender - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-01
Updated: 2019-01-01
Packaged: 2019-10-02 11:21:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,295
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17263331
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dont_do_sadness/pseuds/Dont_do_sadness
Summary: Just something I came up with before season 8 dropped and crushed my soul. Some things that I thought should’ve been addressed in the show and also some self indulgences because I really love this show and these characters.





	Season Eight Who?

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time posting Voltron Fanfiction! 
> 
> This is just a one shot, although it’s pretty long, so it won’t be continued.
> 
> Anyway, enjoy!:)

 

  
“Keith!”

Lance called after the paladin dressed in red armour, even if he was now the black paladin. Keith didn’t seem to hear him, since there was no reaction. Either that or he was choosing to ignore Lance, which only made him angrier. He clenched his fists and continued to stomp after him at a faster pace.

“Keith!” he yelled again, this time with more force, the anger he felt poking out through his voice. Keith kept walking, his helmet in his hand.

Lance felt his body heat up with rage as he took off in a run after Keith. This stupid boy was going to listen to what Lance had to say, and he was going to listen _well_ , or so help Lance he was going to  _punch this stupid mullet boy in the face._

“KEITH KOGANE STOP WALKING AWAY FROM ME!” Lance yelled, although it was probably unnecessary now that he was three feet away.

Keith jumped a little in surprise and dropped his helmet, whirling around to come face to face with the fuming Lance, who still had his fists in balls and face pinched in a vivid look of anger.

“Lance? Wha-“

“DON’T ‘Lance Wha-‘ ME!” Lance yelled, feeling his face turn red as the heat rose. Keith looked startled at the outburst, blinking rapidly multiple times as his pupils grew smaller. Lance would probably have thought it was cute the way he looked all confused if he wasn’t  _so damn angry with him._

“Lance what is this about? Why are you upset?” Keith asked, as if he truly didn’t have a clue what Lance was upset about. Ha!

“Oh, you know EXACTLY what this is about, Keith! Don’t play dumb!” Lance spat, lowering his volume a bit. Just a bit.

Keith’s eyes narrowed as one of his eyebrows rose in confusion, his lips puckered in a pout.

Stupid stupid cute stupid mullet.

“No, I... Lance I don’t know-“

“Oh really?! You don’t know?” Lance exclaimed, throwing his arms up in the air. He knew he was one for dramatics but even he wasn’t trying to over exaggerate here. He was actually really angry. And it took a lot to make him angry.

“So I guess Krolia just lied to me then!” Lance continued, pulling an even more confused expression out of Keith. “And you’re not really going to join her in space with the rest of the Blade!? Fighting for God knows how long against God knows who! Forever! Alone!”

_That_ seemed to bring a flicker of understanding to Keith’s eyes.

His face fell and he blinked rapidly again, his mouth opening slightly as if he was trying to say something. Lance just stood there, arms crossed over his chest. Waiting. Waiting for Keith to react. To explain. To say something. Anything!

“I...” Keith trailed off, his eyes scanning the ground as he scratched the back of his neck. He exhaled loudly. “... was going to tell you.”

“Mhm.” Lance hummed in doubt, his lips pinched in a small pout as he continued to glare holes into Keith’s head. “And I suppose you were gonna tell the others too, hmm?”

Keith’s face scrunched up in a cringe and then turned into something like guilt as he stared at the ground.

“I...” another loud exhale. “... already... did.” he said quietly, shamefully, as he shrunk under Lance’s glare.

But Lance wasn’t glaring anymore. His face fell and his arms fell to his sides as the realization sunk in. His anger dissipated and suddenly, his heart ached.

“You... what?” he asked, his voice sounding pathetically weak compared to his prior yelling. He _hated_ that.

“I told everyone else already.” Keith admitted, still not looking up.

Lance felt like a knife went through his heart.

And for some reason, he felt the need to laugh.

“Ha!”

It was bitter and cold. It wasn’t anything like the way he normally laughed. And somehow that caused Keith to finally look up at him. But Lance didn’t want to look at him now, and instead looked off to the side as he crossed his arms over his chest again, but this time to protect himself.

“So- so you’re telling me that-“ his voice broke, even though he was trying his best to sound angry and not so pathetic like before. “-that _everyone_ _else_ knows. That I’m the only one you planned to leave behind in the dark! Just wondering why the _hell_ you left!”

Lance suddenly didn’t have to pretend to be angry anymore. He was _very_ angry now.

“Lance-“

“And you didn’t even _think_ to let me know? The thought never even _crossed your mind_?!” Lance felt the heat and the anger rise to his face all at once, feeling overwhelmed with things he couldn’t even articulate. His hands were up now and gesturing wildly all over the place, something he often did when he was feeling too much.

“Did you even consider the fact that I’d want to know! That I deserved to know!? That I CARE ABOUT YOU and- and I want to- to know- when you’re going to-“

“Lance-“ Keith’s voice was soft, as was his gaze. Full of pity. And when Lance caught his gaze- no. Fuck that. He didn’t want his stupid pity.

“NO! You were just going to leave! AGAIN! You were going to leave again and this time you weren’t even going to say goodbye!”

“No, Lance- that’s not-“

“OH! MY MISTAKE!” Lance yelled, hands going up in the air. “You did say goodbye! To everyone! BUT! ME!”

Lance pointed at himself to accentuate.

Keith winced.

“YOU SAY GOODBYE TO EVERYONE BUT ME!”

“Lance-“

“BECAUSE I DON’T NEED THE GOODBYE! BECAUSE I DON’T CARE ABOUT YOU!”

“Lance!”

“BECAUSE I DON’T MATTER TO YOU APPARENTLY-“

“OH MY GOD LANCE THIS ISN’T ABOUT YOU!”

Keith’s voice boomed loudly through the empty Garrison hallway. Lance’s mouth snapped shut and he felt as though he physically shrunk three feet as he recoiled away from Keith. The words he’d said sent daggers through him and he felt his chest tighten and his throat close up. And the way Keith was glaring at him didn’t help. He swallowed as he trembled from the sheer impact of the outburst.

Keith must have noticed because his face instantly softened as his eyes took on a look of realization. But it was too late now, he couldn’t take back what he’d said. So...

“This isn’t about you Lance. I have to leave, the Blade needs me out there. And I was going to tell you...” Keith’s voice was soft this time, but still to the point and devoid of emotion. That is until, “...but I just... I _couldn’t.”_  His voice broke.

He looked up at Lance, but he was still trembling and looking at the floor with a hurt expression. He looked like a kicked puppy and Keith felt the cruel, hot twist of guilt and regret twist inside him. It was his fault Lance looked so hurt. Why did he have to lose his temper?

For a long moment, there was silence. Lance wasn’t saying anything, he wasn’t moving, looked like he wasn’t even breathing. And Keith didn’t know what to say. He never knew what to say. He was so bad at communicating and talking and emoting in general, but pair that with comforting and trying to help someone who was hurt, who _he_ hurt. He was useless.

He sighed, long and drawn out.

“Lance, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have yelled. But you have to understand, the universe needs me out there. It’s bad and I have to do my part to help.” Keith tried to explain, but Lance still wouldn’t look up. He continued.

“You guys- you and the other paladins- you’re needed here. On Earth. You guys have to help rebuild Earth and establish good, friendly connections with humans and the members of the Voltron Coalition. You guys are the sign of peace now.

“But, I’m not needed here. I’m not good with politics, you know that. I wouldn’t be good with this kind of stuff. Not like Hunk or Allura. Not like you. There’s nothing for me here, Lance. I... I need to go out there and help. I have no choice.”

Keith stopped, finally stopped talking and stared at Lance sadly, praying he’d understand, or at least look up at him.

But Lance remained quiet. His face looked hard and guarded as he stared at the ground, his hands clenched in fists again at his sides. Keith sighed. What he’d said hadn’t helped. It was probably better if he just left. He turned to leave but then-

“You’re not needed here?”

Lance’s voice sounded raw and mangled, like he was being choked. Keith spun back around, his heart leaping. Lance said something!

“What?” Keith asked cautiously.

And that’s when Lance looked up at him.

Keith has never seen such anger and despair and pain mingled all together in those beautiful blue eyes which shone with tears that were seconds away from spilling over.

“You said: ‘you’re not needed here’. You said that you’re not needed here, like no one needs you here.” Lance repeated, his voice rising in volume but continuing to crack and break under the pressure in his throat. And the way he was looking at Keith sent shivers down his spine.

“Have you ever stopped to think that maybe WE need you?! That maybe _I_ need you?!” Lance pointed at himself again, square in the chest as his voice rose to an almost yell again.

Keith stood, dumbfounded. It felt like someone had punched all the air out of his chest, and he was scrambling, gasping for breath. Lance just looked so... Keith couldn’t even describe it. And he didn’t have time to because Lance was gesturing wildly again, only this time it wasn’t out of rage. It was just out of some pure emotion Keith couldn’t place, and it was making Lance look like he was going crazy from the pain. His eyes were bulging and his eyebrows were knitted together, his jaw wobbled as he yelled.

“You know it was bad enough when you left the first time!” Lance’s voice was going hoarse. “When you left us for the Blade and you didn’t come back for months! And I had no idea where you were or what you were doing- if you were safe- if you were even still ALIVE!” Lance’s voice broke at the end and he blinked and the first of the tears finally spilled and rolled down his cheeks.

“And I had to go on as if you were still there, as if you didn’t leave us and everything was fine! But NOTHING was fine! Nothing was fine because you were the only one who I could trust! You were the only one I could open up to and talk to- and then you just went and left me! You left me and I know you left for the right reasons but- but it still hurt like HELL! It felt like I had this void in me- but I couldn’t tell anyone because they wouldn’t understand!

“And I don’t think you realize but NO ONE was there for me after that. Lotor was there and he had Allura wrapped around his finger and Shiro wasn’t Shiro and Pidge and Hunk were always off together doing their thing in their own little world because they’re so smart and they understand each other but I don’t! I’m just the stupid, useless extra and I had nothing to do and no where to go and no one to talk to! I- I felt so _alone_.”

Lance was full on sobbing now. His arms were wrapped tight around himself as the tears just poured and the sobs racked through his body. And Keith had no choice but to stand there and watch and listen. He was powerless to stop it. To help him. He couldn’t help him and he was the reason Lance was so hurt. It was all his fault.

“I felt so alone and useless and unwanted. I thought-“ *sob* “I thought no one needed me anymore” *sob* “I thought maybe I should just-“ *sob, hic, sob* “Leave but-“ *gasp* “I had no where to go and-“

Lance doubled over, shaking his head as he shook and cried.

“And you weren’t there.”

Lance stopped crying suddenly, like he was all out of tears. He took in a shaky breath as he squeezed himself tighter and closed his eyes tight. There was nothing left to say, but even if there was he didn’t think his wrecked voice could handle it. He sucked in another breath and willed himself to stop shaking so much.

And then he heard it.

A tiny little gasp.

At first he thought he’d imagined it, but then-

*Sob*

Lance’s eyes burst open and he looked up quickly.

Keith was still standing there. He was standing there with his eyes shut tight as his own tears poured silently down his face, with both his hands clamped over his mouth to stifle his sobs. His shoulders shook, as well as his head. Shaking side to side as if he couldn’t bare to hear anymore of what Lance had to say.

Lance didn’t know what to do. He didn’t even know what to think. He had never seen Keith cry. _Never_. He honestly thought Keith didn’t even have to ability to cry, like he’d had his tear ducts glued shut or something. But now...

Keith was definitely crying. He was sobbing, _shaking_. He was trying to control it, trying to stop, Lance could tell. But he couldn’t. He couldn’t stop it. Keith was crying and Lance was the reason why.

He had made Keith cry.

Keith, the bravest of them all.

Keith, the emotionless emo mullet head.

Keith, their leader, the black paladin.

Keith, the saviour of the Universe.

  
And suddenly Lance didn’t care about being angry with him anymore. He didn’t care about the fight or the things he’d said or that fact that Keith was trying to leave him again. He saw Keith cry and that was the end of it. Now he had to stop it, because it was his fault.

Lance took a step forward, slowly. He was wary, cautious. He didn’t want to hurt Keith even more, but he wasn’t exactly sure what to do to help him either. He took another two steps forward, closing the distance between them.

“Keith...?” Lance whispered, lifting his hand up but not daring to touch the shaking boy.

And then Keith broke.

His hands fell and he openly sobbed, loud and unforgiving. His whole body shook and he swayed on his feet, eyes opened just a crack as the tears poured and poured. He gasped for breath between heavy sobs, his voice wobbling and breaking. Lance just stood there and stared with wide eyes. He’d never seen Keith look so broken. He wanted to reach out, to hold him, comfort him. But he knew Keith didn’t like to be touched. So, he just stood there, feeling powerless as he watched Keith cry, his heart breaking more and more with each sob.

“I-“ Keith’s voice broke out suddenly, startling Lance. “I am so- so s-sorry!” he gasped between sobs. “Lance!” his voice broke as he choked on another sob. “I didn’t- didn’t know-!” Keith let out a terribly pained noise “How much I hurt you by leaving.”

Lance couldn’t stand it any longer, not after those words. He reached up with both hands and grabbed Keith by the shoulders, forcing him to stop shaking.

“Keith,” he said softly, tilting his head forward to try and catch his eye. “Keith it’s ok.”

Keith shook his head and let out another small sob.

“Yes. Yes it is. It’s ok.” Lance reassured him, lifting one hand and bringing it to Keith’s chin, holding it with his thumb and pointer finger. “Hey. Hey, look at me.”

Lance lifted Keith’s chin and suddenly the boy’s insanely beautiful grey-violet eyes were met with his. They were huge and sparkling with tears, his dark eyelashes sticking together from the wetness. And they were sad and full of guilt and sorrow, Lance could tell. He was sorry for leaving him and for not telling him he was leaving again. He was sorry. And Lance forgave him.

“It’s okay.” Lance whispered.

Keith didn’t reply but his eyes told Lance that he didn’t believe everything was ok. He still felt guilty, Lance could tell, but he didn’t have the words to make him believe otherwise right then, so he just stood there and held his gaze.

It was quiet. The two of them stood there like that for God knows how long. Time seemed to become incomprehensible as they stared into each others eyes, Keith’s tears started to dry and their breathing returned to normal. Lance didn’t even remove his hand from Keith’s chin or the other from Keith’s shoulder. It was like they were stuck there, frozen.

Lance could feel Keith’s breath on his fingers. They were so close and he hadn’t really realized it until now. Keith was inches away from him, and he still looked so sad. Lance desperately wanted to hug him, to hold him tight. Wanted it more than anything.

Suddenly, and without command, his eyes flicked down to Keith’s lips.

And suddenly there was something he wanted even more than a hug.

**BEEEEEEEEEEEP!**

**BEEEEEEEEEEEP!**

**BEEEEEEEEEEEP!**

Lance and Keith both jumped from the loud beeping ringing through the hall, ultimately separating themselves and effectively ending the trance they had been under.

Lance looked around wildly for the source of the beeping.

“IT’S THE EMERGENCY ALARM!” Keith shouted over the beeping.

“EMERGENCY?! WHAT HAPPENED?”

“ATTENTION PALADINS! THE PRISONER HOLDINGS HAVE BEEN BREACHED AND THE ALTEAN PRISONER HAS GOTTEN AWAY!” Allura’s urgent and slightly frantic voice sounded on the speakers, pulling chills of fear out of Lance.

“WE NEED TO STOP HER! SHE’S GOING TO DESTROY EVERYTHING! GET TO YOU LIONS QUICKLY!” Allura’s voice cut out and the beeping continued to ring through the halls.

Lance and Keith looked at each other, holding gaze and exchanging a telepathic conversation in two seconds before both nodding once in acknowledgment and running off in the direction of their lions.

They ran at top speed, adrenaline and fear pulling through their veins. When they reached the air vessel bay, they could see Pidge and Allura already taking off with their lions with Hunk just climbing into his own.

“GET TO YOUR LION LANCE AND WE’LL RENDEZVOUS IN THE AIR FOR THE PLAN!” Keith ordered as he ran towards Black. Lance nodded his understanding and ran to Red, the giant mechanical lion’s eyes lighting up when she saw him running. She opened her mouth and bowed her head to let him inside. He raced to the controls and collapsed in his seat, setting off to fly into the air with the others.

“Ok, everyone here?” Keith asked through the comms once they were high in the air and on the move.

“Yes. I have the Altean’s ship tracked, we’re heading towards her now,” Allura replied.

“What happened?! I thought we had her secured?!” Pidge asked.

"We did! I don't know what happened or how she did it but one second she was in there and the next she was running toward her ship and throwing explosives at anyone who got in her way!" Allura replied, and Lance could tell what expression she bore just by the sound of her perplexed voice.

"Well, she's out now and we have to stop her. It was hard enough last time so we're gonna need a game plan!" Keith spoke authoritatively.

"I say we form Voltron and just start attacking her with everything we've got!" Hunk replied, the panic and fear rising in his voice.

"No! We can't do that, she's too smart! Her machine is built to learn and adapt to its opponent, don't you remember from last time?!" Lance cut in, running through the memories in his head and trying to come up with a solution. "We need a plan, something new, something creative. We have to catch her off guard!"

"Lance is right! We need distractions!" Keith replied, sending a wave of pride through Lance, although it was brief. There was a pause before- "I got it! Pidge and Lance, you attack first! Draw her fire and shoot where ever you see an opening. Try and find her weak spots, her pressure points."

"Got it!"

"Roger that!"

Lance and Pidge flew ahead.

"Ok, Allura I need you to come at her from behind after she's been well distracted by Pidge and Lance. Find her weak spots and hit them with everything you've got. We're counting on you to weaken her!" Keith ordered.

"Alright!" Allura confirmed before flying off to join Lance and Pidge.

"What about me?" Hunk asked, the panic and fear gone and replaced with seriousness.

"Hunk, I need you to cover me. I'm taking her on from the front, hopefully I'm able to take her down that way. Lance Pidge and Allura are plenty of distraction but I have a feeling I'm still gonna need you to cover me, and Yellow can take the most blows out of all of us. Got it?"

"Got it!"

"Good, cause we're going in!"

And the fight had begun.

\-----

"THATS IT ALLURA!! KEEP HITTING HER THERE, SHE'S STARTING TO FALL!" Pidge shouted through the comms.

"AGH! I NEED HELP OVER HERE!" Lance called suddenly, his lion caught in the giant metal arm of the robeast machine.

"I GOT YOUR BACK LANCE!" Pidge yelled as she came to his aid.

"THATS IT ALLURA!" Keith yelled, watching as the princess took out the beasts knees, leaving it to fall.

"NOW HUNK!"

Hunk and Keith came barrelling in, attacking the robeast head on.

But the Altean inside had a plan of her own.

An escape pod ejected itself and Keith saw her through the window. His eyes narrowed in confusion. Why was she fleeing her own ship. He looked at the robeast and suddenly it all made sense.

He looked around frantically for a second, the others hadn't seemed to have realized it yet. He had to warn them!

"EVERYONE GET OUT OF THERE NOW! THE SHIPS GOING TO-"

He didn't even have time to finish before the explosion went off.

It was massive. Keith had been the farthest away and he still felt the sheer force of it send him hurdling through the sky for miles and miles backwards. Black flipped and rolled over in the air and Keith clutched to the chair for dear life and closed his eyes tight as he screamed and waited for it to be over.

Black connected with the ground and Keith felt the initial contact and then a bounce before coming in contact with the ground again and rolling over and over until they came to a stop.

Keith grunted as he lurched forward before stopping completely. There was a loud ringing in his ears and his head was swimming. He opened his eyes to look around and assess the damage.

"You ok, girl?" He asked his lion. Black's lights flicked back on and she stood up, slowly but still stood up nonetheless. Keith smiled. "Atta girl."

But then he panicked as he remembered the others. He looked around wildly for them, but all he saw was the desert and the giant rock mountains.

"Hello? Guys?! Come in!" Keith yelled into his comms, pressing all the buttons he knew to try and locate his teammates. No response.

"Hunk?!"

"Allura?!"

"Pidge?!"

Keith's heart started to race. Where were they? Were they ok?

"Lance?!" Keith called desperately.

" _Cccrrrekcck"_

Static!

"Hello? Paladins?!" Keith asked into the static.

" _Ccrk_... -here!"

"What?! Hello?! Who's there!?"

"-'m here! I'm here! It's Lance I'm here!"

Keith's heart leapt for joy as a relieved smile washed over his face. At least one of them was ok.

"Lance! Oh, thank God Lance! Are you ok?" Keith asked as he took off into the air with Black.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine but Red is pretty messed up. I don't think she can fly," Lance's voice came in through the static.

"Ok, stay there I'm coming to you," Keith replied as he locked onto Red's signal.

"No! No, I'm fine, you have to look for the others! I can't get a hold of them!" Lance said, panic in his own voice.

"I know I will, but I need to get you first. We have to stick together!" Keith replied. He could see the red lion in the distance now, his heart filled with relief.

"Ok- _CCCRRRRKKKRKKKCCCRRKRKK“_

The comms filled with static again. Keith's heart stopped.

"Lance?! Lance! Are you there?!"

" _CCRRRRRK- AHH- CCRRRRK- KEI-“_

"Lance!"

_”KEITH DON’T COME SHE’S HERE- CCCCCRRRRRKKKKSSSSSSSS”_

" _LANCE!”_

There were sounds of a gun blaster before the comms fizzled out completely. Keith's heart pounded in his chest as he raced towards Lance and the Red lion. He had to get there in time!

\-----

"ACK!" Lance yelped as he just barely dodged a shot by the Altean. She swung her sword at him again and he ducked and ran past her, hopping out of his lion and onto the dusty rock of Earth.

"Come back here! I will avenge my people!" the Altean screamed as she leapt after him.

Lance swung out his bayard and it transformed into his lazer gun. He aimed it at the Altean as she walked towards him slowly, himself taking steps backwards.

"What are you talking about?! We didn't touch your people!" Lance replied, his voice panicked.

"Lies!" the Altean yelled. "I know it was you and the other paladins who killed all my people! After all the trouble Emperor Lotor went through to find us a safe refuge to call home!"

"What are you saying?! Lotor's the one who betrayed your people! He was sacrificing hundreds of them to harvest their quintessence!" Lance exclaimed.

"More lies! Your species disgusts me with all it's lies! Do you really think I'd believe that our saviour was responsible for all that destruction?!? Why would he go through such trouble to safe us- only to kill us all in the end!?"

"I don't know! Cause he's a bad dude!" Lance replied lamely, it was the only thing he could think of.

"You sicken me! Your whole planet sickens me! After I finish off you and the other paladins, I'm destroying this whole planet to avenge the destruction of my own. It does not deserve to exist anyway!"

Lance swallowed. He didn't know what to do. This chick seemed pretty hell bent on killing him and his entire planet.

He kept walking backwards but the Altean started to pick up her pace, jogging slowly towards Lance before bursting into a full on sprint towards him. He barely had time to react before she was on him.

“Agh!” Lance grunted from the impact as he used his gun to block her sword.

“Ha!” the Altean smirked, “What kind of a fighting strategy is this?!” She laughed at him and knocked his gun to the side.

Lance gasped as she grabbed him by the neck and pulled him towards her. He froze, paralyzed in fear as she glared at him.

“My my, you are weak.” the Altean said in disappointment, her narrow eyes scanning over Lance’s terrified expression. “This victory will bring me no honour.”

She hauled Lance up, the boy yelling and kicking his feet out from under him as her grip tightened around his neck. His hands flew up to try and rip her hand away but it did no good. He coughed and spluttered as the hand around his neck got increasingly tighter.

“Please-“ Lance managed to gasp out. It was too hard to breath. Lance was starting to see the edges of his vision go black. He felt the tears spring to the corners of his eyes. His head pounded and his lungs burned for air.

“Pathetic.” the Altean snarled.

Lance wheezed and gasped but it was no use.

The blackness started to cloud more of his vision.

He was getting weaker.

He was going to die, wasn’t he?

The thought felt cold and hallow and _terrifying_.

Lance’s head went fuzzy. His vision almost completely black. And somewhere in the distance he thought he heard yelling... and... was someone calling his name?

———

Keith jumped out of his lion, drawing his sword back as he ran to where Lance was being strangled by the Altean. His heart was racing like it never had before. And all he could think was _no!_

_Not Lance_.

“Lance!” he screamed as he drew back his sword, ready to swing it at the Altean.

Unfortunately, she had fast reflexes and saw him coming. She instantly dropped Lance, the poor boy crumbling like a piece of paper on the ground, and she went for her own sword.

Keith threw all his weight into it once their swords collided. The Altean grunted from the force of it and staggered backwards. Keith pushed her backwards and she jumped to the side, swinging her sword at his side.

Keith blocked it and continued to fight on, pushing her farther and farther back, away from Lance. Every move he made was full force and fuelled with anger and rage. How dare she touch Lance!

Eventually, the Altean jumped far backwards, giving her some room from Keith for a second. She huffed as she doubled over to catch her breath, glaring up at Keith through ruby red eyes.

“Well, at least you have some fight in you. That other one was so pathetic he was practically begging me to end him.” she hissed as her eyes narrowed and her grip around her sword tightened.

Keith felt his anger boil over at her words and he ran at her, his teeth bared and his small fangs emerging themselves.

“How DARE YOU!” Keith yelled as he attacked her, the anger getting the better of him and causing his movements to be more impulsive and frantic and less accurate. He was going blind with rage but he couldn’t help it.

“Ha! You fight like he’s worth saving!” the Altean laughed as she easily dodged Keith’s sloppy attacks. She grinned to herself as she realized what was going on. She knew how to beat this one now, he’d shown his cards.

“He’s worth EVERYTHING!” Keith shouted, his breath uneven and ragged as he swung his sword and put way too much energy into each individual movement.

“Are you kidding- agh!” the Altean grunted as she just barely dodged Keith’s fist from connecting with her face. “Two more seconds with me and he would have been DEAD! It was the easiest victory I’ve ever achieved!”

“Shut it!” Keith spat, blindly aiming at her.

The Altean looked around for a second. There was a large rock structure right behind her. Perfect. That would do the trick. She smiled wickedly as she turned back to Keith, who was now exhausted and breathing heavily from the amount of effort he wasted.

She smiled even more to herself. Humans were such easy opponents to beat, it was almost pitiful.

“I don’t know why you fight for him so passionately.” she sang, her words sharp like a knife. “He is really quite pathetic, just like the rest of you humans! No pride, no honour. Just begging for mercy!”

Keith stood still and listened to her, the anger so intense it could consume him.

No, it already had.

“And once I’ve killed you,” she continued, backing up slowly, “I’ll go back to him and I’ll make sure his death is long and painful and merciless! Just like he deserves!”

“YOU WON’T TOUCH HIM!” Keith screamed as he ran at her. She just smirked and readied herself.

_Come and get it._

———

When Lance came too, there was only a loud ringing sound in his head. Then, he felt the ground underneath him, his cheek pressed into the dirt. Then, he opened his eyes and saw the vague outline of the black lion sitting far away.

He was confused. Why was the black lion here?

Wait-

_Keith!_

Lance sat up much too quickly, his head pounded and his throat felt raw, but he didn’t have time to worry about that now. He had to find-

“Keith!”

Lance spotted him not too far away, battling with the Altean. Lance scrambled to his feet as he watched Keith run at her.

And he continued to watch in horror as she jumped around him and knocked his weapon to the ground. Lance’s heart stopped as he watched her take him by the arm and swing him around. Lance’s eyes widened as he watched her slam him against the rocky cliff.

Lance felt every muscle, every nerve in his body ignite with fear and panic. His limbs moved on their own accord as he ran to Keith, faster than ever before.

“Keith!”

He saw the Altean smash his head into the rock.

“No! Stop!”

He saw her prop Keith’s half-limp body up against the rock, holding him there with one hand on his shoulder as she lined up the tip of her sword with the center of his stomach.

“KEITH!!” Lance cried, tears rolling down his face as he tried and tried and tried his best to get there in time. He just had to get there- run faster! He had to save Keith! Not Keith not Keith not Keith- _please!_

Lance was twenty meters away. _Twenty meters._

The sword plunged into Keith.

Lance heard his scream of agony.

Fifteen meters away when he saw her twist the sword inside him, causing his screams to intensify and then die out almost as abruptly as they started.

Ten meters away when he saw her rip it out and heard his whimpers as his head rolled forwards and his knees gave out and he dropped to the ground.

Two meters away when the Altean turned back around, satisfied smirk on her face, before it was wiped clean and replaced with shock as Lance drew his bayard back and swung it at her with everything he had.

“AHH!” his cry of rage, fear, desperation, and heartbreak rang in the air as the Altean broadsword formed and connected with the Altean’s side.

She cried out as she jumped backwards, not dodging it in time. It cut into her side as she fell backwards and rolled and flipped on the ground before coming to a stop. She clutched her wounded side for only a second before Lance was there again, both hands gripping his sword as he swung it down at her in a fit of rage.

“Ack!” she screamed, just managing to get her own sword up in time before Lance’s connected with her head.

“How are you still fighting?!” she gasped, Lance’s strength overpowering hers as she leaned backwards, almost laying on the ground.

“Guess I’m not as weak as you /think/-“ Lance hissed, his sword sliding past and nearly cutting her head off.

“Agh!” the Altean yelped in fear as she rolled away and sprang back up, just barely getting her bearings before Lance was attacking her, swinging again and again and again. She just barely blocked each hit, some of them even cutting her in various places. She felt the burn and sting of each cut. She tripped over her feet as she staggered backwards. Lance used this opportunity to catch her off guard, twirling his sword around hers and loosening it from her grip before sending it flying into the air, far away.

She fell to the ground with a loud grunt as she clutched at her bleeding side. She looked up at Lance, fear in her large red eyes. Lance glared down at her, pointing his sword to her chest and forcing her to stay down. She glanced at it and swallowed hard before looking back up at Lance.

Lance held her gaze, stared into her eyes as his own narrowed in hatred and rage and _revenge_. This woman just hurt Keith, stabbed him! She didn’t deserve his mercy!

Lance’s expression hardened as he thought about killing her. Stabbing her like she did to Keith. Would it be as satisfying as it seemed? Would it fill the void in his heart? Heal the pain he felt?

The Altean narrowed her own eyes as she breathed heavily.

“Well go on! Do it then!” she yelled at Lance, her voice sounded angry but Lance could tell there was fear there. “Kill me!”

And it was those words, ‘kill me!’, that made Lance realize that killing wasn’t the answer. It never was. It wouldn’t satisfy him. It wouldn’t avenge Keith, it wouldn’t go back in time and stop her from hurting him in the first place. It would only place more guilt in Lance’s heart. It would only cause him more pain.

He closed his eyes and bowed his head, surrendering.

This wasn’t the answer.

He wouldn’t do it.

“Hahahahah!” the Altean laughed wickedly, causing Lance to reopen his eyes to look at her questioningly.

“You were wrong! You are just as weak as I thought!” she sneered, her eyes burning with hatred.

Lance felt anger swell up inside him again. But no- no he wasn’t going to let it get the best of him.

His bayard transformed into a gun.

“I’m not weak.” he said, his head held high as he watched her eyes dance with fear again.

**Blam!**

Lance fired the gun, the beam of light connecting with her chest and sending electric current throughout her body. She screamed in pain as her body twitched from the current, before she went still and silent, eyes closed.

Yeah, Lance wasn’t going to kill her, but he wasn’t going to let her go either.

Tasering her and then bringing her to justice for her crimes seemed like a better fit, to Lance anyway.

His bayard swept away as he lowered his arm and gazed at her unconscious body with a hard expression. His heart felt heavy and empty. This was the right decision, he knew, but he still couldn’t help but wonder if killing her would have made him feel better about Keith.

KEITH!

Lance whirled around, his heart rate suddenly picking back up as he thought of Keith, crumpled up and bleeding on the ground.

He spotted him a few feet away from the rocky cliff. He was on the ground, grunting as he tried to pick himself up.

Lance ran to him, watched him struggle to lift himself up and flip over onto his back.

“Keith!” Lance called, his voice breaking as the panic rose in his chest. His breathing was becoming short and rapid and his hands shook as he crashed to his knees, skidding across the dirt ground and coming to a stop beside Keith.

“Keith. Keith-“ Lance’s words cut out as his breath hitched. He looked at Keith’s stomach. It was a mistake.

Keith had his hand over the wound, but Lance could still see all the blood. And there was so much. It was seeping through the black material of his suit, covering his entire hand, gathering in a large puddle underneath him. And it wasn’t stopping. It just kept emptying and emptying, leaving Keith’s body much too fast.

Lance swallowed harshly as the panic coursed through him.

“No.”

He continued to stare at the wound, his hands hovering above it, not knowing what to do.

“No!”

Lance felt an overwhelming sense of fear flood over and engulf him. His heart raced like it was about to jump out of his chest. This couldn’t be happening. This couldn’t be real!

“No! No no no no no no no!” Lance cried, shaking his head back and forth. This wasn’t real, this couldn’t be real!

“Ugh-“ Keith grunted, and suddenly Lance was able to tear his eyes away from the wound to look at Keith’s face.

Keith.

His eyes were squeezed shut and his eyebrows were drawn together. His face was pinched and twisted into a look of pure pain and agony. His jaw was clenched and he was breathing in harshly through his mouth. Short, staggered breaths.

And Lance’s heart broke. He swallowed and tried his best to quell the panic inside him because- /dammit there was no reason to panic! Keith was going to be ok! He was going to be ok!/

“Keith,” Lance said softly, bringing his hand up to gently caress the side of Keith's face. The boy winced and opened his eyes, staring up at Lance with pain still etched across his face.

"Lance-" Keith gasped out between a ragged breath, grunting in pain after he said it. Lance tried not to let that send off another wave of panic.

"It's ok, Keith," Lance spoke softly, gently rubbing his thumb across the other boy's cheek. "You're going to be ok. I'll call for help right now, ok?"

Lance's hands shook as he reached up to his ear to turn on the communication device, praying to god it wasn't broken and that someone would hear him. He tried to ignore it when Keith closed his eyes again and groaned out in pain.

"Hello!? Anyone there!? Hunk? Pidge? Allura!?" Lance's voice was frantic, he couldn't help it. "Please- someone answer! Please."

Lance was praying to God someone would answer. He needed help, he couldn't do this alone. He couldn't save Keith alone.

"Please-" Lance's voice broke. There was only static in his ear.

He closed his eyes.

" _Please_!“

He let out a small sob.

"Hello?! Lance!? Is that you!?"

Lance's eyes burst open as his heart leapt into his throat.

"YES! It's me! Allura! Thank god!" Lance could practically cry with relief from hearing Allura's voice.

"Lance, oh thank the heavens! We couldn't get in touch with either you or Keith for the longest time and we don't know where you are-"

"Listen Allura! I need help! The Altean attacked me and Keith and now Keith's hurt. Badly. I need you to get here fast!" Lance cut her off, too panicked to really care about being polite.

"Oh no... I can try and get there but I don't have your signal... red and black are both unresponsive." Allura sounded panicked too. This wasn't good this wasn't good.

Lance looked around desperately, locking eyes on red.

It was a long shot, he knew, but...

He glanced at Keith.

He had to try.

He closed his eyes.

Ok Red, I know you and I haven't really been able to bond like you and Keith had, but Keith's in trouble now and he needs your help. I need your help. Please, send a signal to Allura. Reach out to her and the blue lion! Please, Red! I need you! I can't let Keith die.

Silence.

Lance opened his eyes.

It was a long shot, he knew.

"Lance?! Are you still-"

Lance shut off the communicator. It was no use now. Allura wouldn't find them in time.

Lance looked down at Keith sadly, his heart weighing a thousand pounds. He choked on a sob as he stroked his friend's face softly.

"They're on their way." he lied, but whether it was to Keith or to himself, he wasn't sure. "They're coming. You're going to be ok, Keith."

Keith opened his eyes to stare up at Lance. They were huge and beautiful, an amazing mixture of grey and violet. He was truly a wonderful creation. Lance wondered how he never really noticed just how beautiful he was. He regretted not taking more time to admire it until now.

"Lance..." Keith spoke, his voice full of doubt. He knew. He knew they weren't coming.

"Shh. It's ok. You're going to be ok." Lance cooed, rocking back and forth and trying his best not to let his voice wobble.

"No... no Lance it's- it's not," Keith grunted, sucking in another short breath.

"Yes it is! You're going to be ok. You're going to be fine- I'll- I'll make sure of it. You're going to be ok Keith-" Lance's voice broke and he let out a shaky sob, unable to contain it any longer. His heart ached like it never had before. This was a pain so intense that he'd never felt before.

"Shhh, Lance," Keith hushed, looking up at him with his beautiful eyes. "It'll be ok."

Lance nodded. "I know it will. You'll be ok."

"No, Lance." Keith said firmly, drawing his eyes back to his own. Keith's face was serious, but urgent, like he needed Lance to understand. " _You'll_ be ok."

And Lance did understand.

But he didn't want to accept it.

So, he just stared into Keith's eyes, feeling the tears fill his eyes and then spill over and roll down his cheeks.

This wasn't fair.

"Ugh!" Keith grunted, his breath shallow. Lance lurched forward and took him in his arms, wrapping one around his shoulders to prop him up a little, and the other one to pull him closer to him.

"Lance-" Keith gasped, looking up at Lance with such fear in his eyes it sent chills down Lance's spine. Keith winced. "Tell- tell me something, Lance." Keith asked, looking up at him desperately. "Talk to me."

Lance stared at him, so many emotions flooding his senses it was almost unbearable. He didn't think he'd be able to form anything coherent, but he'd try for Keith. He'd do anything for Keith.

"Umm," Lance cleared his throat, feeling another tear slip past his cheek. He looked around for ideas, looking at how he was holding Keith in his arms, and suddenly a memory came to mind.

"I- ... I guess the rolls have reversed, huh?" Lance said, doing his best to shoot Keith a goofy smile. It just ended up looking shaky instead.

"What?" Keith asked, pained expression morphing into confusion for a second.

"I mean, before it was you holding me in your arms... you know... the bonding moment." Lance admitted, his cheeks turning a light shade of pink.

"You..." Keith gasped, looking up at Lance with huge eyes full of wonder and disbelief. "You remember?"

Lance chuckled softly, a sad little thing really.

"I always did. I just didn't want to admit it..." he trailed off, staring at Keith with a small, sad smile.

"Why?" Keith breathed.

"Because..." Lance sighed, might as well just admit to everything. "Because I wasn't ready... emotionally, to think of you as anything other than a rival. I wasn't ready to admit that you were there for me in my moment of vulnerability. I wasn't ready to admit that I could care for you, that you could be more than just my competition."

Lance looked at Keith, watched his eyes shine with disbelief and understanding and sadness as he told his story.

"But... but now I know you're more than that. You're my teammate, my leader. You're my confidante, my go-to. You're the person I trust most. You're my friend..." Lance's voice broke again as his heart ached like hell and the tears all swam up at once. He shook his head as he closed his eyes, tears falling from his face and onto Keith's chest plate.

"And now... now you're- you're...." Lance couldn't bring himself to say it. He sobbed. "And I wasted all that time being so mean to you and-"

"Shhh," came Keith's voice, soft and drawing in Lance's gaze once again. Keith raised a shaky hand and moved it slowly over to cover Lance's hand, gently rubbing his thumb over his knuckles. "It's ok, Lance. I forgive you."

Lance smiled and closed his eyes, nodding.

"And- and I'm sorry too," Keith continued, his breath slowly evening out again. Lance looked at him in question. "For leaving you." Keith clarified, gazing up at him sadly.

Lance suddenly remembered their fight from before and he felt sick with regret. How could he have gotten so mad at Keith? How could he have taken him for granted?

"I- I never meant to- to hurt you," Keith breathed, tears welling up in his own eyes.

Lance's heart shattered and he took Keith's hand in his own, bringing it up to his lips to kiss it.

"I know, I know." he whispered, kissing his hand again. "I forgive you, Keith."

Lance closed his eyes and held Keith's hand closed to his heart. The other boy's grip was lose, dangerously so. Lance opened his eyes.

Keith's eyes were closed and he face was relaxed, Lance panicked for a second but breathed a sigh of relief when he saw he was still breathing. Barely.

"Keith. Keith, stay with me buddy." Lance urged in a panic. "You gotta stay awake, Keith!"

Lance shook him and Keith's eyes flew back open.

"Agh!" Keith cried, his face twisting into pain and agony as he lurched forward, gasping for air and coughing and spluttering.

"Keith! Shhh, shhh. Keith," Lance cooed, trying to calm him down.

"Ahhh," Keith wailed, tears springing to his eyes. His closed them shut tight as he shook in Lance's arms.

"Lance!" Keith gasped his name, calling out to him with fear in his voice. Keith's hand was now clutching onto Lance's shoulder, as if for dear life. He trembled and his breath was even more shallow and ragged than before. He buried his face in Lance's chest.

"'M scared- Lance-" Keith's voice wobbled. "I don't- wanna- go- Lance."

He looked so scared. He looked so broken. He looked so close to death.

Lance felt his whole world collapse.

But he would stay strong for Keith.

He would do anything for Keith.

"Shhh," he cooed, stroking Keith's hair and laying him back down softly so he could rest. "It's ok. I'm here, Keith. I'm here."

Keith's breath remained shallow but it slowed, becoming less rough. He opened his eyes, but only managed to halfway. He gazed up at Lance through half closed eyelids.

Keith moved his shaky, weak hand from Lance's shoulder up to his face. He ever so gently touched his fingers to Lance's cheek, slowly stroking them against the soft, golden skin.

And Keith smiled.

Smiled ever so softly.

It was a look of pure adoration, and Lance couldn't help but smile back at it.

"Why are you smiling?" Lance whispered, taking Keith's shaky hand in his own again and pressing it to his face.

"You're... so... so beautiful... Lance..." Keith breathed, smiling ever so slightly more.

Lance's smile widened.

"Yeah?" he asked softly.

"So beautiful... so.... beautiful..." Keith rambled, smiling up at Lance as his breath slowed.

"Lance...." Keith breathed his name, smiling even more. "Lance..."

"Yes?" Lance asked, his heart aching at the way Keith was looking at him.

"I... I love you.... Lance..."

Keith breathed it out, so softly it was barely audible.

Lance's smile faded.

"What?" he choked out.

"I love you.... I love you.... I.... I love you..."

Keith didn't seem to even know what he was saying anymore. His eyes fell closed but his smile remained ever present.

"I... Keith..." Lance trailed off, trying to process what he meant.

"I will always love you..." Keith breathed. His smile was fading. But Lance didn't notice. Lance was staring at the ground, trying to process, trying to grasp what Keith had said.

Keith loved him?

Like, _loved_ him?

All this time?

Suddenly, Lance felt the hand he was holding turn cold.

His heart stopped.

He turned to look at Keith.

His eyes were closed. His smile was gone. His face was relaxed and colourless.

No....

"Keith?" Lance choked, the panic rising to the surface again as his heart beat a trillion times per second.

No no no....

"Keith? Keith- wake up! Wake up Keith!" Lance's voice was hoarse as he shook Keith, dropping his hand. He gasped as he watched it thud lifelessly on the ground.

No!

"Keith!" Lance yelled, his voice raw and broken as he frantically checked for a pulse. His skin was cold to the touch.

"No..." Lance shook his head. He started to hyperventilate as the tears began to pour. "No no no no!"

Lance touched Keith's face, begging for him to open his eyes.

No such thing happened.

"NOO!" Lance screamed, wailed, his voice echoing around the canyon.

He lurched forward and buried his face in Keith's neck, clutching his lifeless body as close as possible.

This wasn't happening This wasn't happening This wasn't happening This wasn't happening This wasn't happening.

He was gone.

He was gone he was gone he was gone!

Lance let out a sound halfway between a scream and a sob. His heart hurt like never before. He longed for Keith to come back to him. He just wanted Keith to come back to him.

Lance continued to sob and scream as the pain overwhelmed him. He felt his heart breaking, his soul shattering, his world collapsing around him. His lip quivered and he couldn’t stop shaking. He hung onto Keith as hard as he could, as if he could transfer his own life into Keith.

He cried into Keith's neck, pressing senseless kisses there. As if kisses could bring him back. Then, he moved to Keith's jaw. Kissing it over and over again, repeating what he had failed to say when Keith was alive.

"I love you too."

"I love you Keith."

"I love you."

But this wasn’t a fairytale. Kisses won’t bring Keith back. Not even if it’s true love.

If Lance hadn't been sick with pain and grief, maybe he would have noticed that the wind had picked up suddenly around him.

Or maybe he would have noticed the giant, flying mechanical blue lion.

But he didn't.

Instead, the first thing he noticed was Allura's voice, calling out to him a few moments later.

"Lance! Lance I'm here!"

Lance felt his heart break for the thousandth time.

He slowly looked up from Keith's body, tears staining his cheeks and eyes red.

Allura was there, right in front of him, not a scratch to be seen.

Meanwhile... Keith was...

"You're too late," Lance said, his voice raw, as he looked back down at Keith's beautiful, peaceful face.

"He's gone."

Lance reached up and brushed the hair out of Keith’s eyes. He stared at Keith, just waiting for his eyes to open, even though he knew they wouldn’t.

The pain he was feeling, it was a grief that just couldn’t be spoken. He didn’t know how to put it into words. The emptiness he felt. The pain. The sheer intensity of it. He wanted to cry, to scream, but he could barely breathe.

And he wasn’t aware of anything else but Keith’s face. He didn’t really notice when Hunk and Pidge came running, or when Pidge collapsed into Hunk upon seeing Keith’s dead body, sobbing. He didn’t see Hunk’s eyes widen with fear and pain and hurt, like he had been struck in the heart by a knife.

All he could see was Keith. All he could think was Keith. All he could do was wait there, hoping, praying for him to come back.

Lance closed his eyes as he felt sick with grief, because he knew that wasn’t going to happen.

Keith was gone.

“No.”

Lance heard Allura say, her voice loud and determined. He open his eyes again and glanced up at her. She was staring at Keith with a hard look of stubbornness and determination.

“Allura?” Lance asked, his voice cracking.

“No. It’s not too late. I can still try.” she said. She got down on her knees, kneeling over Keith’s body across from Lance.

“Allura... you can’t do anything. He’s-“

“No! I can try. I have to try.”

She was determined, her voice was raw with emotion and pain, but her expression bold and fearless. She wasn’t going to give up on Keith.

Lance reluctantly laid Keith down on the ground sat back on his heels to give her some space, watching and trying not to hope as she examined his body.

Allura then pressed both of her palms to Keith’s bloodied wound. Lance held his breathe. He squeezed his hands into fists and bit on his bottom lip until he tasted blood. He couldn’t get his hopes up, that would only break him more. It was best to just accept it now. Keith was gone. There was nothing that could be done.

Allura started to glow.

At first it was her eyes, a bright blueish white light emanated from them. Then the glow moved to her whole face and travelled down her neck and along her arms, finally into her hands.

And then the glow transferred into Keith. It fell inside the wound, lighting it up in it’s glow. The light moved through until Keith’s entire body was glowing.

Lance had to squint to shield his eyes from the intensity of it. It was overpowering.

But he didn’t take his eyes off of Keith. Allura’s hair started to blow back from a wind that was suddenly starting to pick up around them. Lance felt it blow across his face and run through his own hair. Hunk held Pidge tightly in his big arms as they both stared in fear, hope, and amazement at what was happening.

And then, Keith’s body started to lift up off the ground. Allura stood up as he rose, her hands seeming to be the thing that was lifting him, although she wasn’t actually touching him.

The light swirled around Keith, enveloping him and filling him. It was bursting through his eyes and mouth, and from the wound in his stomach. He was pure light.

Lance couldn’t help but stare at it in pure amazement.

He was beautiful.

And then suddenly, Allura stopped glowing, her skin and eyes returning to their normal state. The wind died down and Keith’s body started to dim as well.

Allura grunted as her arms fell and her legs collapsed from underneath her. She fell to her knees with a dull thud.

“Allura!” Pidge gasped, jumping out from Hunk’s arms to kneel by her side and wrap an arm around her. Hunk then joined them on the ground and wrapped his arm around the both of them.

“I’m ok,” Allura breathed.

Lance wasn’t really paying attention to them though, he was more focused on catching Keith in his arms as his body lowered back down slowly. The glow disappeared and his pale face returned to normal, but still stayed motionless. Lance risked a glance at the wound, but it was completely gone. The only evidence of it ever being there was the bloody and teared hole in Keith’s suit.

Lance held him in his arms, trying his best not to hope.

He was really trying not to.

But he couldn’t help the anxious beat of his heart, or the feeling of immense pressure in his chest.

Then, ever so carefully, Lance raised his hand to touch Keith’s face.

He let out a tiny gasp as he felt the warmth of Keith’s skin on his hand.

“Keith?” he asked, his voice a whisper, not daring to speak any louder.

All four of them held their breath as they watched Keith, hoping to God...

Lance’s hand trembled as he raised it to brush away Keith’s hair. He wasn’t moving. He wasn’t waking up. Why? Why wasn’t he-

“Por favor,  _Keith. Por favor, despierta.”_

Lance’s heart was just about to shatter into a trillion pieces once again.

Keith gasped.

Keith lurched upwards, coughing, hacking, and gasping for air.

Lance’s heart leapt out of his chest.

He stopped breathing, his eyes going wide as saucers.

He grabbed onto Keith, holding him tightly, not daring to let go.

“Keith?!” he squeaked out, his heart pounding harder than ever.

“Ugghh,” Keith groaned, wincing as the colour came back to his face. He stirred in Lance’s arms, and Lance thought he could scream out for joy.

Keith opened his eyes, very slowly. There was an intense ringing in his ears and his head was throbbing. The harsh light hurt his eyes but he opened them as far as he could.

The first thing he saw was Lance’s face. It was glowing, and he was smiling down at him. And at first, Keith thought he was in heaven.

“Lance...?” Keith’s voice sounded raspy and hoarse to his own ears, even through the ringing. He opened his eyes a little more and realized that Lance wasn’t glowing, it was just the light from the setting sun behind him. Lance was just there, staring at him with a huge smile and tears in his eyes.

“Keith! Keith you’re ok! You’re ok, you’re actually ok!” Lance cried out with joy, tears spilling from his eyes.

Keith winced at the pounding in his head and the aching in his muscles as he shifted and tried to sit up. That’s when he realized Lance was holding him in his arms. So... did that mean... earlier... that wasn’t a dream? Lance really had been holding him in his arms? And now he wasn’t dead?

“Keith!”

“Oh thank god, Keith!”

“You really has us worried, dude.”

Keith looked to his other side to see Pidge, Allura, and Hunk all crowded around him, wearing the same expression of joy and relief as Lance was.

“What...” Keith croaked out, wincing at the soreness in his throat. “What happened?”

“Uhh, well you kinda died,” Hunk replied, scratching the back of his neck. Keith’s eyes widened. “But then Allura did some crazy Altean magic and brought you back!”

Keith blinked slowly, trying to wrap his head around the sheer amount of things to unpack from that sentence. He turned to Allura, not really knowing what to say.

“Allura....I.... _thank you.”_

Allura smiled that sweet, kind, loving smile she had.

“Of course, Keith. You’re my family. I would have done the same for any of you.” she replied, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder.

Keith smiled softly at her, his feeling of gratitude and love for Allura showing through his eyes.

He would forever be thankful for her.

Another soft hand was placed on his shoulder. He turned around to face Lance.

“How are you feeling?” the boy with shinning blue eyes and a smile that could cause a grown man to weep asked kindly. At first, Keith couldn’t answer. He was too struck by the pure emotion in Lance’s eyes, his dried tears leaving tracks on his beautiful face.

Lance.

Keith’s heart melted just by looking at him.

“I’m ok, a little light headed maybe...” Keith replied while gazing into Lance’s eyes. He remembered his wound suddenly and went to look at it, but it was gone. He touched the soft skin of his abdomen where the cut used to be. It was just gone.

“Are you sure?” Hunk asked, leaning forward slightly and looking concerned.

“Yeah, I mean, you did just... die...” Pidge added, her eyes going sad at the mention of Keith dying.

Keith smiled. How couldn’t he when these idiots cared so much about him?

“Guys, I’m ok, really.” he said earnestly, smiling at all of them.

“Awe man, we were just so scared-“ Hunk’s voice cut out and he swallowed, shaking his head. “Come here!”

Hunk exploded into tears as he lurched forward and wrapped his big arms around Keith. And the next thing Keith knew, Pidge and Allura were hugging him tightly as well.

“Oh... ok... thanks guys. I can really feel the love,” Keith joked as he tried not to suffocate from their death grips.

“We love you Keith!” Pidge cried.

“Don’t ever die again!” Hunk sobbed.

“Please.” Allura agreed.

“Ahaha, ok ok!” Keith laughed, a weird sense of relief flooding him. “You guys can let go now. You’re crushing me!”

They all let go and laughed as they said their apologies.

Keith smiled at them all, feeling uncharacteristically happy and grateful for all of them. He loved his friends, he had to admit.

“Are you able to stand?” Allura asked suddenly.

“I think so,” Keith replied, leaning forward to stand up. Keith felt Lance shift with him and guide him as he managed to haul himself up. Normally, Keith probably would’ve snapped at him and said he didn’t need any help, but right now he didn’t feel the need to complain. In fact, he almost absentmindedly leaned into his touch.

“Oh, Lance,” Allura spoke up suddenly once Keith was standing, most of his weight supported by Lance who had his arm tucked around Keith’s waist. “What happened to the evil Altean? You said she attacked you two?”

Lance blinked a few times, as if he didn’t have a clue what Allura was talking about. But a light seemed to go off in his head as his face lit up in realization.

“Oh! I shot her. She’s over there,” Lance said casually, jerking his head in the general direction of the still unconscious Altean.

Everyone gazed at him with horrified and confused faces.

“You killed her!?” Pidge squawked in horror.

“What? No! I just stunned her.” Lance replied, raising an eyebrow. “Who do you think I am?”

The team breathed a collective sigh of relief.

“Alright, well we need to restrain her and take her back to the Garrison for questioning.” Allura said.

“Yeah, and maybe this time increase the security.” Pidge suggested wryly.

They all gave her a wary look.

“Oh. Too soon?” she asked.

“Maybe just a little,” Hunk said, giving her a soft pat on the back.

“Ok then, Hunk and Pidge, you two should fly back and report to the Garrison about what happened. Also, find Shiro and let him know Keith’s alright.” Allura ordered. “I’ll take the Altean- oh for Quiznack’s sake I wish she’d just tell us her name! I hate calling her ‘the Altean’. Anyways, I’ll take her back into custody.”

“What about me and Lance?” Keith asked.

“Lance,” Allura turned to him, “take Keith to the hospital and make sure he’s alright.”

“What?!” Keith squawked. “I’m fine! I don’t have to go to the hospital!”

Allura just crossed her arms and gave him a look.

“Seriously! I’m fine!”

“Alright, then try to stand without leaning all your weight into Lance,” Allura challenged.

Keith shakily pushed off of Lance and went to stand on his own.

The world started to spin uncontrollably and his knees shook violently underneath him. They buckled and he started to fall down, before Lance lurched forward and caught him in his arms.

“Whoa!” he gasped, lifting Keith back up.

Keith felt the blush creep onto his face as he grabbed onto Lance for support, the world still seeming to be swaying underneath his feet.

“Lance, take Keith to the hospital.” Allura repeated, giving him a look he’d only ever seen mother’s give their children when they were being difficult.

“Yeah. Fine. Ok, whatever,” Keith muttered begrudgingly. He heard Lance chuckle softly above him and he look up to shoot him a playful glare.

“And what are you laughing at?” he asked, pouting. Lance just smiled down at him. Not teasingly, not condescendingly, just sincerely.

“Nothing. Come on, let’s go.” Lance replied, supporting most of Keith’s weight as they slowly walked over towards the red lion. Allura, Hunk, And Pidge took off for their respective missions, leaving them alone.

“Is Red ok to fly? We could go in Black-“

“There’s no way you can fly like this. Besides, she’s had more than enough time to recharge herself, I’m sure.”

“Ugh. Fine, if you say so-“

Keith’s foot caught on the uneven ground and his knees buckled, sending him falling towards the ground.

“Whoa-“ Lance caught him with his other arm, while Keith’s arms scrambled around his neck to pull himself back up. Lance lifted him back up and Keith stood on his feet again, still clutching onto Lance as he caught his breath.

“You ok?” Lance asked. Keith stared at Lance’s chest plate as he waited for his heart rate to calm down.

“Yeah. Just...” Keith suddenly noticed just how close they were as he looked up. “...dizzy.”

Keith met his blue eyes. Lance seemed to notice their proximity as well, judging by the dumbfounded look on his face.

An odd sort of heat and tension started to grow between them, and Keith felt a strange urge to move closer. His eyes danced across Lance’s features, taking in every inch of skin. They darted from his eyes to his forehead to the smooth slope of his nose and down to his lips...

Keith suddenly felt a new kind of dizzy, and he could tell Lance felt it to. His eyes darted back up to Lance’s, taking in how wide and uncertain they were.

“Keith...” Lance breathed out his name softly. It sent shivers down Keith’s spine. His eyes were so wide and fearful, they kept looking into Keith’s, as if he were searching for something. Keith wished he knew what. He wished he knew what was going on in Lance’s mind right now.

“I...” Lance swallowed. Keith could feel the heat between them, could feel it burning inside him too. He felt the ends of his nerves tingle in anticipation, and a weird fuzzy sensation filled his head. He longed for more contact, for less distance between them. His fingers curled around Lance’s neck.

Lance shifted slightly as Keith gazed up at him with eyes glassed over with longing. He just wanted Lance to-

“We should-“ Lance gulped nervously as he broke the gaze, looking over his shoulder toward the red lion.

Keith felt a strong sense of urgency fill him, his whole body screaming _no! Look at me!_  His hand went up to touch the side of Lance’s face and softly pushed it back so their eyes met again.

“ _Lance_.” he said, his voice urgent. The blue eyed boy let out a small gasp as their eyes met again. Keith felt his heart flutter when he looked at him.

He moved ever so slowly closer, inching his way to Lance’s lips. Lance’s eyes widened as Keith got closer, but he wasn’t moving away, he wasn’t trying to stop it. He was just as lost in the lull as Keith was.

They were so close, Keith could feel Lance’s breath brush against his lips. He could feel Lance’s pounding heartbeat through their armour. He could see the way Lance’s eyes were shinning with uncertainty and doubt, but mostly longing, and desperation.

Keith moved closer. With every inch they got closer, the more Keith could feel the chemistry and tension surround him, pulling him forward and flooding his senses. He could feel his mouth going dry and his whole body was buzzing. He felt high off of their proximity.

And he felt so desperate. His heart was pounding even faster than Lance’s. He needed Lance, needed him so badly. He felt his eyelids droop as he switched his gaze from Lance’s eyes, down to his lips, and back up again. Eyes, lips, eyes. Silently asking him if this was ok, if this was what he wanted.

Lance didn’t say anything. His eyelids were slowly going shut as well.

Keith closed the distance another inch. Their lips were practically touching. Keith felt the heat of each breath Lance breathed, brushing against his lips. His eyes were nearly closed. He felt dizzy. He felt high. He just... needed... Lance...

Keith couldn’t hold himself back anymore. He leaned forward and _finally_ pressed their lips together. It was soft, Lance’s lips were soft and sweet. Keith didn’t want to move, he just held the kiss, gently pressing his lips to Lance’s, relishing in the way they felt. The electricity was running through his veins and sparking out at the end of every nerve in his body. The heat was so intense it was suffocating. He couldn’t breathe and he was seeing stars.

Keith pulled away slowly, feeling the way Lance’s lips dragged against his own as they parted. Both boys gasped for air, their lips still only a hair’s breadth apart and their eyes still closed shut.

Keith felt their breath’s mix and the heat gather around him again, and suddenly the electricity and longing came swooping back in, ten fold, and consuming Keith and Lance.

They both lurched forward.

Keith sucked in air through his nose as their lips came clashing together, much harder this time. Lance moved his mouth against Keith’s, and he relished in the way their lips slotted together and dragged apart again. He tilted his head and pulled in closer, opening his mouth wider as he moved against Lance’s lips. The softness and pressure of Lance’s lips were enough to make him dizzy, but now they were also wet and sliding against his and it was enough to make him faint. The stars turned into fireworks behind Keith’s closed eyes and the sensation knocked the breath right out of him.

He kissed Lance with everything he had, everything he’d ever wanted. He’d wanted this for so long, imagined how it would feel so many times. He tightened his grip around Lance’s neck and opened his mouth wider, breathing hot air into Lance’s mouth. He felt their lips drag against each other as Lance opened his mouth too and Keith tilted his head a little more to the right.

Keith pressed their lips together again before opening up and sliding his tongue into Lance’s mouth. He felt Lance tremble and heard the small whimper escape him as he massaged Lance’s tongue with his own. Lance tightened his grip around Keith’s waist as he started to move his tongue too, circling it with Keith’s and pressing into the kiss more and more. Lance’s mouth was hot and wet and his tongue felt slimy and Keith would have thought it was weird if it didn’t feel _so good._

Keith felt his lungs scream for air suddenly, his heart doing backflips in his chest. But he didn’t want to stop. He never wanted to stop. But he needed air. But Lance’s mouth was so wonderful and it tasted like something sweet. But he couldn’t breathe!

Keith pressed his mouth hard against Lance’s one last time, eliciting another muffled whimper from Lance, before pulling away quickly and gasping for air to fill his lungs. Lance and Keith held onto each other, both catching their breath as their hearts beat fast. Keith could still feel the power of the kiss, running it’s way through his body and making him feel light and dizzy. He clung onto Lance, so as not to fall over, and swayed on his feet. Lance’s grip on him tightened and sturdied him. Keith opened his eyes.

He slowly looked up, gazing at Lance with eyes still half closed, his breath still hot and heavy. Lance stared back at him, no more uncertainty in his eyes, only happiness and admiration. Keith felt his heart ache with the love he felt for this boy.

Love.

Keith suddenly remembered everything that had happened right before he died.

His eyes widened.

“Lance,” he said, his voice urgent as he cupped the side of Lance’s face with his hand so that he was sure he was looking at him. “I want you to know that- all those things I said back there, when I was dying? I- I meant it. All. I meant everything I said.”

Lance’s eyes went wide again. Keith held them in his gaze. He took a deep breath.

“I love you, Lance.”

Lance’s eyes sparkled as he gazed at Keith in disbelief.

“You... love me?” Lance gasped softly.

Keith nodded mutely.

Lance’s eyes shone as tears welled up in them.

And then he was lurching forward and hugging Keith tightly, burying his head in his neck.

“I love you too, Keith.”

It sent chills down Keith’s spine. Lance loved him.

And Keith had never really been one for hugs, but he felt so at home in Lance’s arms, and he couldn’t help but squeeze him back and bury his nose in Lance’s soft hair.

“I’m so glad you’re ok.” Lance breathed, squeezing just a little tighter. Keith let out a breathy laugh as he smiled brighter than the sun.

“Me too.”

There was a moment of peaceful silence between them as they embraced, just feeling safe and warm in each other’s arms. Keith never thought he would, but he liked how tight Lance was hugging him. The pressure made him feel grounded and the warmth made him feel safe. He felt at home in Lance’s arms.

“Your mullet is suffocating me.”

"Oh my god, Lance!" Keith rolled his eyes in exasperation as he shoved Lance away by his shoulders. Moment. Ruined. "Enough about my mullet!"

Lance smiled back at him, barely containing his laughter. Keith groaned and rolled his eyes again.

"If it bugs you that much I'll just cut it off! Will that make you happy?" he asked frustratedly.

"No! You can't do that!" Lance suddenly said, very frantically. Keith raised an eyebrow at him.

"You cannot cut off your mullet. Ever. Do you know how bad you would look without it?" Lance said, looking very strangely serious for this discussion.

"What? I thought you hated my mullet?" Keith asked, confusion and frustration in his voice.

"Oh Keith," Lance sighed. "I can't believe you haven't realized by now."

"Realized what?"

"Well," Lance started, suddenly averting his gaze and blushing shyly. "I never really hated your mullet. I actually always thought it looked kinda cool and edgy, which made me mad because I wanted to be the cool one. So I pretended to hate it. There. Now you know my deepest, darkest secret. Are you happy?"

Keith couldn't contain the smile that spread across his face.

"Yes. _Very_." he replied enthusiastically, shit-eating grin on his face.

"Ugh! Come on," Lance groaned, rolling his eyes, "I still have to take you to the hospital."

"Oh right. I completely forgot about that." Keith replied as Lance grabbed his hand and started trying to drag him towards his lion.

"Yeah. Guess we got kinda side tracked, huh?" Lance said, pulling hard on Keith's hand.

"Yeah, you're very distracting."

"I know."

"Lance?"

"Mhmm?"

"You know you can't drag me there, right?"

"I can try!"

"But you won't succeed."

"Fine then!" Lance huffed as he dropped Keith's hand and marched over to him.

"What are you- LANCE!"

Keith shrieked as Lance bent down, grabbed him by the hips, and hauled him over his shoulder.

"PUT ME DOWN- LANCE!" Keith cried, laughter exploding out of him so hard it hurt his sides. His head started to spin again, but he figured it was probably from being flipped over.

"No! I'm taking you to the hospital whether you like it or not!" Lance replied firmly.

"Ohhhh, someone's bossy!" Keith teased, laughter still burning his sides. He wasn’t exactly sure what he was saying, the spinning and the pounding in his head made it hard to think clearly.

Lance didn't answer him.

"You know, I'm surprised you can lift me," Keith continued to tease. He let out a small gasp, "Have you been training without me?"

"Yes!" Lance snapped. "Because you're always off doing reckless things!"

"Hmm. That does sound like me."

" _Alright_!" Lance snapped, dropping Keith to the floor of the red lion's helm, causing the world around Keith to lurch violently and then start spinning again. "Now I'm taking you to the hospital because I think you might have suffered from _brain damage_ with all that none sense you're spewing!"

Lance took the controls as Keith sat up, ignoring the spinning, and smiled at him until he finally glanced over and noticed.

"What?" he asked grumpily.

"I love you."

Lance's face went bright red, making Keith smile even more. He turned his gaze away from Keith and starting the red lion's ascent, muttering to himself in Spanish.

Keith hummed to himself, staring at Lance all the while. He absolutely loved it when Lance spoke Spanish. It was a very beautiful language, and Lance sounded incredibly hot when he spoke it.

"What?!" Lance squawked in horror, his face red as a tomato.

"Did I say that out loud?" Keith asked, laughing to himself.

The last thing Keith remembered before blacking out was Lance screeching about something.

\-----

Keith heard the voices before he saw who they belonged to.

His eyes were closed, he was just waking up, and he heard the soft murmur of people talking around him. He went to open his eyes, but all he saw was a bright light that seemed to pierce right through his brain. He groaned from the pain in his head as the ringing in his ears blared loudly.

“Keith?”

“Is he awake?”

Keith fought the urge to go back to sleep and instead gripped his head, preparing for more pain, and opened his eyes.

The bright light was still there, but so were Shiro and Lance. Shiro walked over to the hospital bed Keith was in, crouching down by his side and placing a soft hand on his shoulder.

“Shiro?” Keith asked, only slightly confused about what was going on. He knew he was in a hospital because Allura told him to go, but he couldn’t remember how he got there exactly. Shiro smiled that proud, brotherly smile of his and patted his arm.

“Hey. The doctors said you have a mild concussion but other than that, you’re completely fine,” he explained. Just like Shiro, always straight to the point.

“Oh,” Keith said, not really know what else to say. A concussion would explain the pounding in his head.

“Although, from what Lance has told me...” Shiro’s smile disappeared and was replaced with the interrogatory, brotherly pout, “it was a lot more than a concussion before Allura showed up and saved you.”

Keith opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He still wasn’t sure how to respond. What did Shiro want him to say? Sorry for being reckless and getting myself murdered by an evil alien? Actually, that’s probably exactly what he wanted Keith to say.

“Well, sorry for being reckless and getting myself killed while I was trying to defend the world, Shiro.” Keith said, but it came out way more sarcastic than he had intended it to. Shiro rolled his eyes and sighed.

“Leave it to you to make a sarcastic comment about your own death,” Shiro muttered in annoyance. But then he stood up and just smiled back down at Keith. “At least you’re ok.”

Keith smiled back up at him. He knew there was no way Shiro could ever stay mad at him, especially when he was just relieved he wasn’t actually dead.

“Yeah. We can just call this payback for all the times I had to save your ass.” Keith joked, a grin spreading across his face. Shiro chuckled and patted his arm again, a little more forcefully than necessary.

“Ok, ok. I’ll get off your back. Just don’t ever do that again,” Shiro said sternly as Keith rubbed at his slightly sore arm.

“Roger that, captain.”

Shiro smiled, then turned to Lance.

“I’ll let you two... talk.” Shiro said to Lance, his voice suggesting that he knew something Keith didn’t. Lance’s face went red as Shiro walked past him, and he wouldn’t seem to meet his eye. Keith observed with confusion was Shiro nodded towards Lance and then opened the door to leave.

“Get some rest, Keith.” he said, and then he was gone.

Keith turned back to look at Lance, curious about what that just was. But Lance wasn’t saying anything. In fact, he seemed very concentrated on staring at the ground, an odd look on his face as he pulled at the sleeves on his jacket and tapped his foot.

Keith raised an eyebrow, waiting for Lance to do something. But all he did was shift his stand awkwardly, fidgeting and glancing around the room, looking anywhere but at Keith.

Keith sighed frustratedly. This was getting old very fast. He cleared his throat and Lance jumped a little.

“Lance.” Keith said his name in a deadpan.

Lance glanced at him, but didn’t meet his eyes.

“Yeah?”

“Stop it.”

“Stop what?”

“That,” Keith gestured at Lance’s shaky, fidgety state. But he didn’t seem to get it, as he was still looking at Keith with confusion. Keith sighed again and gripped his pounding head. He was in too much pain for this.

“Just-“ Keith sucked in a breath to calm himself down, “Just come sit down. And stop being so nervous and fidgety.”

Lance opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He seemed to be arguing something in his head, his head turned toward the door, but then he must have made up his mind because he walked over quickly to Keith’s bed and sat down on the corner, next to his feet. Keith fought the urge to groan in frustration. Seriously, what was up with this boy?

“Lance,” Keith said, a note of urgency in his voice. Lance turned and Keith held out his hand toward him. “Come here,” he nearly whined, making a grabbing motion with his outstretched hand. Lance reluctantly took his hand and went with him as Keith pulled him up next to him.

Lance was now sitting very awkwardly at his side, half of his body hanging off the edge of the bed so he wouldn’t be so close he was touching Keith.

They sat in awkward silence for awhile. Lance started to fidget again, and it was driving Keith mad. Finally, he couldn’t take it anymore. He opened his mouth to snap at Lance, but then he thought better of it and closed it again. Frustrated words probably wouldn’t quell Lance’s nerves.

Instead, he turned towards Lance, and poked his cheek.

Lance hardly reacted. Although his face did turn a warm shade of pink. Keith smirked and poked again. This time Lance moved his head to the side, but still wouldn’t look Keith’s way. Keith pursed his lips and then started to repeatedly poke Lance’s face until the poor boy gave in.

“For the love of God, would you stop that!” Lance growled, pushing Keith’s finger away and glaring at him. But it worked, he was looking right at Keith now. Keith couldn’t suppress the grin that erupted on his face.

“What’s up with you?” Keith asked, laughing a little to himself.

“Well, sorry for being annoyed with your poking.” Lance snapped, his face absolutely red.

“No. I mean why are you being so weird and nervous?” Keith asked. “Did I do something?”

Lance stared long and hard at Keith, purposely keeping his face expressionless. Then, he turned to stare at the bed and let out a soft sigh.

“No... you didn’t do anything.” he said softly.

“Then why?” Keith asked, wanting answers faster than Lance could give them. Lance was quiet again, he moved to cross his arms over his chest, and then moved again to hold himself. He looked so strange, so weirdly uncomfortable and unsure of himself. Keith has seen it in him before, but not exactly in the same way. He wanted to wait and give Lance the time he needed, but he was also growing more impatient by the second.

“Lance?” Keith tried, his voice soft. Lance sighed and deflated a little, his shoulders sagging and his head dropping a little lower.

“Look,” he started, his voice deep and unguarded. That’s something Keith hadn’t noticed until now, how deep Lance’s voice has gotten since they first met.

“I’m just... I’m not really sure what to do, ok? I’m not good at this stuff. I mean, usually I just flirt with a girl until she rejects me and sends me away. I’m never serious about it because I don’t want to actually get rejected. I guess I’ve just never...” Lance paused, tilting his head as he stared inquisitively at the bedsheets, searching for the right words.

“... flirted with a guy before?” Keith asked, trying to fill in the blanks for him. Lance chuckled and closed his eyes, an actual, real, unguarded smile washing over his face. Keith felt warmth and pride bloom inside his chest. He did that, he made Lance smile like that.

“Well, Yeah, that.” Lance said, still smiling. “But no. I mean I’ve never actually felt this way before... about anyone. It’s... strange. I don’t know. I guess I’m just scared I’m gonna mess it up. And I really don’t want to mess it up.”

Lance was looking at him now. He was looking to him for answers, for comfort. He was being completely true and vulnerable right now, and Keith realized this wasn’t the first time. Lance seemed to come to him about his insecurities. Does that mean, Lance trusts him? Another wave of warmth and pride blossomed inside Keith and he smiled at Lance. He couldn’t help it.

“Lance, you won’t mess it up.” Keith started, moving to grab one of Lance’s hands and untangle it from where it was gripping his side.

“And, if it helps, I’m a little scared to. I’ve never done this before. I don’t know how to be soft and romantic. I don’t even know how to open up to people. I guess,” Keith exhaled, long and slow, “I guess we’re just gonna have to help each other figure it out.”

Lance stared at Keith for another long moment. Keith stared back, letting Lance take his time. Eventually, Lance opened his mouth again.

“What does that mean then? For us?”

“What?” Keith asked, confused.

“Like... where do we stand? What are we? Are we... you know-“ Lance swallowed and his face went red “-dating?”

Dating. Keith’s heart warmed at the thought. He smiled a little and squeezed Lance’s hand.

“If that’s what you want.” Keith replied. Lance immediately turned to him.

“It is.”

Keith’s heart skipped a beat. He smiled, although he was sure it looked totally shaky and love struck. He didn’t care.

“Ok. Then we’re dating.” he said, his voice wavering. Lance lowered himself on the bed and scootched in closer, pressing up against Keith’s side.

“Does that make me your boyfriend?” Lance asked, leaning in closer to Keith, the corner of his mouth upturned in a half smile, half smirk.

Keith felt his cheeks flush as his heart stuttered. He couldn’t even respond, so he just pressed his lips together and nodded. Lance leaned in more.

“Does that make you _my_ boyfriend?” Lance asked, definitely smirking now. He was probably getting off on the way he was making Keith all flustered and blushing. The prick.

Keith nodded again, still unable to speak because _goddamnit Lance was so close_.

“I think I like that sound of that.” Lance murmured, his breath tickling Keith’s lips. Keith let his eyes fall shut right away, his lips parting and just waiting for Lance to kiss him.

And he did.

And it was nothing like the last time. It was soft and delicate and meaningful. Keith felt his heart do backflips in his chest, felt the electricity from Lance’s lips run through his body, making his hair stand on end. It was all Keith had ever wanted.

Lance’s hand found its way to the back of Keith’s neck and his fingers found their way into his hair. Keith moved his lips against Lance’s as he felt him card through his hair and run his fingers down his neck.

Lance pulled away and Keith couldn’t help but think it was over way too soon. But then he opened his eyes to see Lance gazing at him with those beautiful blue eyes and this stupidly, dorky, in love smile of his face, and he couldn’t help but smile back with an equally stupid, dorky, and in love smile.

“I love you, mullet.” Lance whispered. And Keith suddenly fell in love with the nickname.

“I love you too.”

**Author's Note:**

> I hope that mended some of your broken hearts after season 8.


End file.
